Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting
11/15/2008 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Philadelphia 76ers will shoot for a season high three straight wins this evening, when they welcome the Oklahoma City Thunder to the Wachovia Center.
After losing three in a row the Sixers have posted two consecutive victories, including Friday's 94-92 win over the Indiana Pacers at Conseco Fieldhouse. Second-year forward Thaddeus Young scored a career-high 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Philadelphia to consecutive wins for the first time this season.
Andre Miller scored 19 points and big man Elton Brand had 14 and 15 rebounds in a winning effort. Willie Green scored 14 points off the bench and Andre Iguodala ended with 10 points and 10 boards for the 76ers.
Oklahoma City is only 1-8 on the season and has dropped six in a row since the franchise's first win on November 2 versus Minnesota.
The Thunder dropped a 116-106 decision to the New York Knicks on Friday, as reigning Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant had 23 points to lead the way. Russell Westbrook chipped in 19 points and 10 boards off the bench while Robert Swift grabbed 13 rebounds in defeat.
Oklahoma City will close out a short two-game road trip in Philly and is 0-4 as the visitor this season. Thunder forward Chris Wilcox (knee) is questionable for Saturday's game.
The Sixers won both meetings with Seattle/Oklahoma City last year and have won four in a row overall in the series. Philadelphia is 3-0 in the past three matchups as the host.
<< Woeful Clippers host Warriors
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - A pair of struggling teams in the NBA's Pacific Division
hookup Saturday, when the Golden State Warriors travel down the coast to take
on the Los Angeles Clippers at Staples Center.
The Warriors fell to 3-6 on the yo
<< No. 18 USC lifts lid on new season against UC-Irvine
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - In-state foes meet at the Galen Center
today, as the UC-Irvine Anteaters do battle with the 18th-ranked USC Trojans
in the season-opener for each program.
The Anteaters posted an 18-16 record under head coa
<< No. 13 Memphis begins season against visiting Fairfield
Memphis, TN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The 13th-ranked Memphis Tigers open up their
2008-09 season at home this evening, as they welcome the Fairfield Stags to
FedExForum for a non-conference matchup.
John Calipari's Tigers are probably in a for a b
<< Top-ranked Tar Heels host Quakers in season opener
Chapel Hill, NC (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The much-anticipated season opener in
Chapel Hill will finally take place this afternoon, as the top-ranked North
Carolina Tar Heels hit the Smith Center floor against the Penn Quakers.
Roy Williams' team e
Hornets hit the road to Houston >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The New Orleans Hornets will hit the road this evening for
a showdown with the Houston Rockets at the Toyota Center.
New Orleans completed a three-game homestand with a 2-1 mark and recorded an
87-82 victory over the Po
Celtics, Bucks square off at Bradley Center >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Boston Celtics will hit the road tonight against the
Milwaukee Bucks at the Bradley Center.
Boston went 2-1 on a three-game homestand and had a six-game winning streak
stopped with Friday's 94-85 loss to the Denv
Blazers pay a visit to Minnesota >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Portland Trail Blazers will try to get back on the
winning track tonight, when they resume a five-game road trip against the
Minnesota Timberwolves at the Target Center.
Portland had a four-game winning str
Habs try to continue regular-season dominance of Flyers >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Though the Canadiens stumbled in the playoffs last season
versus the Flyers, they've had no problem beating them in the regular
season. Montreal will try to top Philadelphia for an eighth straight time
tonight in a battle bet
Is there such a thing as a trap game in the NFL?
I once asked that question to Pete Korner, who at the time was office manager and a senior linesmaker for Las Vegas Sports Consultants.
Korner almost ripped my head off. There is no such thing as a trap game, he loudly berated me. It’s a myth. The numbers are made using power ratings, he said.
There are trap games, though. They just might not be what you think. The perception is of a good team, say Philadelphia, laying a small number against New Orleans.
Using the highly-respected power ranking from The Gold Sheet, you’d find the Eagles with a power rating of 4 and the Saints at 8. When you factor the game being played in New Orleans, you could see why the line opened so short at less than a field goal.
For some, this makes it enticing to take the Eagles. That’s not a real trap game, though.
A real trap game, says professional gambler Dave Malinsky, is thinking you’re getting value betting a bad team, which brings us to the Oakland Raiders-Denver Broncos matchup.
The Raiders are +15 in this long-standing division rivalry. Denver is on a short week having dispatched Baltimore Monday. However, the Raiders haven’t covered the spread their last 10 games.
Many bettors don’t trust the Raiders to give a full effort. Few think much of Art Shell and his Oakland’s coaching staff.
So oddsmakers have to do something to make Oakland attractive if they hope to get equal action.
Now Malinsky is a value shopper. But he won’t touch the Raiders even getting more than two touchdowns.
“I try to eliminate the undisciplined, unfocused teams because they’re the ones most likely to suffer the bad beats,” he said.
Near the top of Malinsky’s list of stay-away teams is the Miami Dolphins, who have yet to cover a spread this season.
“Whatever you think of Nick Saban, you have to look at the penalties and turnovers,” Malinsky said.
It’s easy to point out the Dolphins failed to get the money this past week against New England because Olindo Mare missed a field goal and had another field goal blocked. But even though the Dolphins outgained the Patriots, 283-213, they committed eight penalties.
Bad teams not only cost themselves victories, but pointspread covers as well. The Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers are two more examples.
The Cardinals couldn’t have been in a better position this past Sunday, up 14-0 at home against a mediocre Kansas City Chiefs squad. But they couldn’t hold it. The Packers got a push against St. Louis, but also could have won losing by three when Brett Favre fumbled at the St. Louis 11-yard line with 44 seconds left.
“The Packers were in a position to beat Philadelphia, too,” Malinsky said. “But they couldn’t even cover double digits.
“These teams just make mistakes and it costs you … they always will look good from a value standpoint. They really will. But that’s the trap.”
Houston and Tennessee rank among the six-worst teams. Malinsky wouldn’t be afraid to take either of these teams, however, if the price were high enough.
The Texans are bad, Malinsky said, but they have some discipline. The Titans showed they could not only come up with an outstanding game plan, but execute it as well, losing by one to the Colts on the road as an 18 ?-point underdog this past Sunday.
“Jeff Fisher is a worker,” Malinsky said of the Titans coach. “I’m not sure how hard Art Shell wants to work when he gets out of bed.”
Fisher, though, could be out as Tennessee coach after this season. Is he still worth backing in the right spot, with the right price, as a lame duck coach?
“It’s in his nature to keep working hard and not worry about any possible lame duck status,” Malinsky said. “He’s coaching for his resume.”
Note: Monday night game will be picked Monday. Lines used are from football betting lines.
MySportsbook.com: New College Football Clock Rules Examined
Coaches and bettors alike are desperate to make sense of the new time-keeping rules on the NCAA gridiron. One of the big stories to come out of the Ohio State-Texas clash last weekend was Texas coach Mack Brown's criticism of the NCAA's new clock rules that are intended to shorten the duration of college football games, therefore affecting college football betting.
"They scored with six minutes left and the game was over before we had a chance to do anything," Brown told ESPN.com. "I really hope whoever made these changes will go back and look them over."
Sure, it might be sour grapes; the Buckeyes thoroughly trounced the defending national champion Longhorns 24-7. However, Brown isn't alone in giving the changes their due thought. Bettors are also wondering about them, albeit for a completely different reason. Most experts agree that the changes will result in games being shortened by anywhere from 10 to 20 plays. The obvious consequence is lower scores, with more time rolling off the clock during changes of possession. (The Ohio State-Texas game flew well under the total of 52.)
According to research at the online sportsbook MySportsbook.com, more than 18 plays a game disappeared last weekend into thin air. That's a 10-percent reduction. In 2005, a typical game had 168.58 plays. For 2007 already, it's down to 150.26.
As a result, teams combined to gain an average of about 100 fewer yards a game last weekend versus the 2005 openers. Scoring was also down by about 4.5 points (attention Las Vegas sports lines).
Of course, oddsmakers were able to adjust to the changes before the season started. Proof of that came as the over went a balanced 8-9 at My Sportsbook on Saturday.
Other angles to consider:A shorter game should theoretically result in shorter lines. Whereas Team A might have been a 14-point favorite in a 168-play game (last year), if there are 10 percent less snaps in 2007, the line should also be reduced by 10 percent (to 13 or 12.5). Of course, this is an over-simplification of the matter, but something to keep in mind.
Less possessions means a better chance the game will be decided by three or seven points. For example, what might have been a 20-10 final score in 2005 may end at
17-10 in 2007. Granted, a 24-17 game last year might end at 21-17 these days, but the former - a three- or seven-point advantage being preserved as opposed to created - is the most likely scenario.
*UPDATE* - Sept. 25, 2007
New Clock Rules Boon for online bookmakers
By adjusting the time-keeping rules to shorten the duration of college football games, the NCAA hoped to make its product more enjoyable for the fans. While the NCAA's success in this regard is still up for debate, bookmakers couldn't be happier with the results.
"We are seeing a massive jump in college football betting," noted the MySportsbook.com management team. "With all the early Saturday games (12 a.m. ET) ending before the second wave begins (3:30 p.m. ET) - something that didn't always happen before the changes - bettors are now able to re-invest their winnings from the morning session in the afternoon games."
While not all bettors will choose to roll over their winnings, it doesn't take much for an impact to be seen on the bottom line. "Not all of the millions of dollars in morning payouts get re-bet. In fact, it's probably only 10 to 20 percent," noted the sportsbook management team. "Still, the increased football betting lines window will create a ton of growth for us over the course of the season."
About MySportsbook.com Sports Casino Poker
Since opening in 1997, MySportsbook.com Sports Casino Poker has been a leader in Internet wagering, providing single account access for sports and casino play. This sportsbook has a revolutionary payment method, Direct Bank Transfer, gives players a faster and more secure transaction option for both deposits and withdrawals. This Internet Sportsbook takes pride in offering an aggressive VIP rewards program, along with seasonal reduced juice specials and high parlay payout odds. MySportsbook.com has set new standards in the sports betting industry, from their fantastic customer service, industry leading bonuses, extensive selection of wager types and props, to the fastest payouts anywhere... MySportsbook.com is America's Sportsbook! Open an account today at MySportsbook.com Sports Casino Poker, or call toll-free 1-866-238-6648
To visit this online sportsbook got to MySportsbook.com for all your Sportsbook accepts Master Card needs.
Sports Betting News: NFL Team History | NFL Football Betting | College Football Betting | Baseball Betting | Basketball Betting | College Basketball Betting | Hockey Betting | Golf Betting | Tennis Betting | Auto Racing Betting | Horse Racing Betting | Soccer Betting